My name is Tex Wambui. I moved from Kenya to the United States at the age of 11. My hometown in the United States is Sacramento, California. I have had the pleasure and opportunity of attending University of California, Davis to study Economics. Transitioning from an East African boy to African American man hasn’t been effortless, but I have developed resilience and a unique perspective. I found myself in America, a new country with new people. Changes were rampant, and life continuously sped up. I grew overly sensitive and conflicted, not knowing if I was black or loyal to my African culture. I attend one of the toughest schools in Sacramento, California - my new hometown. Students were more ruthless than kids in Kenya. I was an easy target, because, though I was the “right” color, I was somehow “not black.” In middle and high school, I was at the top of my class in academics, athletics, leadership, and activities; however, that didn’t always mean sweet moments, as it lent itself to negative backlash. Students teased me for trying my best because I wasn’t acting “black” enough. Black children were stereotyped as not thriving academically or putting effort into anything. They wanted to be known for being “cool” rather than good. Eventually I grew overly sensitive and conflicted not knowing if I was black or loyal to my African culture. Now, as an African-American man, I have decided to make efforts in creating a non-profit organization with the aim of facilitating the necessary discussion of improving humanity by promoting and displaying individuals and groups uniqueness. My goal is to foster necessary discussions of how to value self and community. I have taken it as my responsibility to provide methods and ways of influencing youth in my community through my platform to believe that their voice matters and their ideas and cultural differences and nuances are important for our future generations to create their voice and statement in solving American problems. I started S I T T Y - STAY IN TRUE TO YOURSELF in 2019. S I T TY aims to improve the lives of individuals and groups by facilitating the necessary discussion of how to stay true to yourself. We vision a theme of improving the self first and then improving the community to assist individuals to find their niche and understand their worth as individuals through conversations. Thus far, S I T T Y has implemented a scholarship program that serves students form the African diaspora or low income communities. We have been able to provide over $500 in scholarships and are looking to do more. On top of that, we have had one round of interns exemplify their passion and writing abilities with the goal of promoting an intellectual global atmosphere to challenge students to study, explore, and engage with other cultures and people while broadening their perspective and involvement in the world. S I T T Y hopes to reach and impact minority communities - Black, Latino, and Asian - in urban, suburban and rural areas to understand their narrative and display and promote each unique story to the world. We take this approach because we understand the challenges of educational inequity, and are dedicated to ending educational inequity by supporting students. We have taken initiative by working primarily to support individuals and groups achieve their higher education dreams by facilitating necessary discussions of how to value the self and community. There will be an improvement in awareness of identity, development of talent, enhancement of the quality of life and building human capital and facilitating employability. We are aiming to improve self-awareness, advance self-knowledge, develop strengths or talents, acquire careers, fulfill aspirations, and empower social relations and emotional intelligence. S I T T Y recognizes and confronts historical and ongoing inequities that result in many Black students being underserved in our public schools and higher education system. Our particular 'uncensored' approach uniquely positions the organization to gain the honest reputation desired to best confront these inequities through media, policy, and practice. Beyond our commitment to promote equity and excellence, we look for ways to effectively disseminate our messages with the complete and blatant truth. Another priority is to understand very well what is being done well, and ultimately to become a national model for how we can address race and opportunity, where we can work with public and private institutions and individuals to combine strategies and resources to improve scholastic experience and learning for all.